If you plan to work in the US as a highly skilled worker in 2025, you must apply for the H1B Visa in the upcoming cycle of the H1B Visa season, which starts in March 2025. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services(USCIS) officially calls this H1B Visa Fiscal Year 2026 season.
This article will cover the end-to-end timelines for the upcoming H1B 2026 season, potential dates for submission, lottery predictions, and all the latest related news. We will continue to update this article as we have more updates and new official information from USCIS.
Background: H1B Visa Fiscal Year(FY) 2026 Season
If you are new to the H1B Visa, you must read the article H1B Visa Basics to understand its requirements and common jargon.
It can be confusing for you as you see the year 2026 next to the H1B Visa season when you are applying for the same in the year 2025. To understand why, we must first understand the concept of the USCIS Fiscal Year.
USCIS Fiscal Year: The USCIS’s fiscal year differs from the typical calendar year as the start and end dates are not from January to December. USCIS Fiscal Year starts on October 1st and ends on September 30th of the next year.
Now, coming to USCIS Fiscal Year 2026, it starts on October 1st, 2025, and ends on September 30th, 2026. So, technically, the Fiscal Year(FY) of 2026 USCIS begins on October 1st, 2025. It is the same for the H1B Visa Fiscal Year as well. That’s the reason the H1B Visa FY 2026 starts on October 1st, 2025 and ends on September 30th, 2026.
USCIS accepts H1B petitions for the next fiscal year about six months before the start of the fiscal year. Now, for the FY 2026 season, counting six months backward from October 2025, it would be April 1st, 2025.
For employers to be able to file H1B Visa petitions from April 1st, 2025, they need to have the applicants selected in the H1B Lottery before that; that’s why the process even starts before April 2025 for the FY 2026 season.
In the next section, let’s look at the detailed timeline of the H1B visa 2026 season.
What is the H1B Visa 2026 Timeline? Dates?
USCIS is yet to announce the official dates for the upcoming H1B Visa 2026 season. We have included a timeline based on past historical dates from the previous H1B Visa 2025 season and the previous years so you can start planning. We will update the table below with the exact dates once we have an official announcement from USCIS.
| H1B 2026 Process Steps | Dates | Activities performed during this period |
| Create H1B Registration Accounts | Starts from the last week of February 2025 | Employers or H1B Sponsors create their H1B Registrant accounts. They need to use their registrant accounts to submit H1B registrations in the USCIS online system. |
| Start Date to Submit H1B Registrations | First Week of March 2025 | The start date from when Employers can login to the USCIS H1B Registration system and submit registrations for applicants that intend to hire on an H1B Visa |
| End Date to Submit H1B Registrations | Last Week of March 2025 | The last date when you can submit the H1B Registrations for the H1B 2026 season. |
| H1B Registration Lottery Selection, Results | Last Week of March 2025. Latest by March 31st, 2025 | USCIS conducts random selection, aka H1B lottery, and informs results during these days. It is usually announced by the last day of March 2025. |
| H1B Petition Filing Dates | April 1st, 2025 to June 30th, 2025. | Employers can file H1B petitions for selected applicants in the H1B Lottery during this period. An employer needs to prepare a complete petition with LCA and all applicant’s details and send the package to USCIS. |
| H1B Petition Processing by USCIS, Decisions | April 1st, 2025 onwards | USCIS processes the H1B petition filed by the employer from April 1st onwards, which can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. |
| H1B Lottery Second Round | July to August 2025 | If there is a second round lottery, similar to H1B FY 2024 season, it will be anytime between July and August 2025. |
| H1B Visa Stamping at US Consulates | July 1st, 2025 onwards | If you are an applicant outside of the US, you need to get an H1B Visa Stamp in the passport to enter the US on H1B Visa. You apply for it at a US Consulate/Embassy. |
| Start Working on H1B Visa | October 1st, 2025 onwards | USCIS fiscal year 2026 starts on Oct 1st, 2025 and this is when the cap-subject applicants can start working. If your petition was approved and you got the visa, you can enter the US and work from Oct 1st, 2025. If you are already in the US, your status will change to H1B from this date |
We have summarized the above table with the H1B visa 2026 timeline and dates in a simple flow chart image as shown below:
You can also read End to End H1B Process Guide from Lottery to Stamping to get an idea of the overall process.
Let’s look at the other areas related to the H1B 2026 season.
What is the H1B Visa Quota for FY 2026 for Regular Cap and Master’s Cap?
The US Congress set the H1B Visa quota cap to 85,000 many years ago, and it has not changed since 2005. When we talk about H1B Cap, we are talking about the limit in terms of numbers.
We do not think the H1B quota cap will change for the FY 2026 season. Below are the annual quota caps set for each of the regular and master’s quotas for FY 2026 season:
- H1B Regular Quota: 65,000 Visas (anyone who meets basic requirements can apply)
- H1B Master’s Quota: 20,000 Visas (You need a US Master’s degree from accredited schools are eligible for this quota)
Of the 85,000 H1B cap quota, 6,800 visas are set aside for the citizens of Singapore(5,400) and Chile(1,400) as part of their Free Trade Agreement. These 6,800 are categorized as H1B1.
Even though there is a 6,800 set aside for the H1B1, very few visas are consumed yearly. To learn more, you can read What is H1B Cap? Regular vs Masters Quota, H1B1. If you are looking for more information on how the H1B cap looked starting from 1990, you can also read H1B Visa Total Cap by Year from FY 1990 to 2024.
H1B 2026 Lottery Predictions – How many H1B Registrations?
The demand for H1B visas continues to skyrocket every year. USCIS has conducted the H1B visa lottery every year since the fiscal year 2014 season. Technically, we had an H1B lottery every year for the last 12 consecutive years. You can check the History of H1B Cap Reach Dates by Year
Despite the changes to the H1B Lottery system during the H1B FY 2025 season, USCIS received about 480K H1B Registrations during the FY 2025 season.
There is no doubt that there will be H1B Lottery for the upcoming H1B FY 2026 season. But, in terms of numbers, we will do a detailed analysis and do H1B Predictions closer to the start of the H1B 2026 season.
In the meantime, you can read the previous year’s prediction article: H1B Visa 2025 Lottery Predictions, Analysis.
What documents should be submitted to employers for H1B 2026?
Documents for H1B Registration/Lottery: To submit the H1B Registration with USCIS, the employer only need basic information that appears in the passport such as first name, last name, date of birth and passport number. Employer only needs a copy of the Passport of the applicant. There is no need to give your original passport.
Documents for H1B Petition with USCIS: If the applicant is selected in the H1B lottery, then the employer will submit a petition with USCIS. For that, they need a lot of documents, as listed below. Again, no need to submit originals, only copies are sufficient.
- Copy of all educational certificates.
- Copy of Passport (all pages)
- If your degree is from a US University, Transcripts and Degree award certificate.
- If your degree was from a US University, the copy of your I-20
- If you are currently living in US, copy of I-94 ( electronic or physical copy)
- Your latest Resume.
- If you have lived in the US and paid taxes, copy of previous W2 tax forms.
- If you have lived in the US, copy of your driving license or state ID
- If you have lived in the US and have an SSN, a copy of your Social Security Card.
- If you have done an education evaluation, a copy of the education evaluations too.
- Work experience certificates (if any )
- If you have any evaluation reports from work, copy of them too.
- If you are an F1 Student in the US:
- OPT and STEM OPT Card(if applicable)
- Latest I-20 with OPT authorization on it
- Pay stubs during your work on OPT.
You can read full details at the article: H1B Documents Checklist for USCIS – Registration, Petition
H1B Visa 2026 Changes by Trump Administration?
Trump administration will take office starting from January 20th, 2025. The new administration will have a very narrow window to make any changes to the H1B Lottery process as they would hardly have a little over a month before they must open up the H1B Registration System for submission of registrations.
In the past, during the first term, the Trump administration tried to change the H1B Lottery process to be based on wage levels, but the final rule did not make it through as courts canceled it. After that, the Biden administration took over, and no changes were made.
The chance of the new Trump administration to bring in such changes to H1B Lottery are very high, we may expect to see those changes for FY 2027 maybe. We have to wait and see what they will do in the upcoming months.
If any changes are going to be made by the new Trump administration, we will update this article to reflect the same.
How much is the H1B Fee for FY 2026: Registration, Petition?
The H1B Visa fee for FY 2026 differs from the previous year as USCIS increased the H1B registration fee starting from April 1st, 2024.
The table below shows the various components of the H1B fee and the applicable fee:
| H1B Fee for FY 2026 | Fee in USD |
| H1B Registration Fee | $215 This went up from April 1st, 2024. |
| Base filing fee | $460 ( less than 25 employees) or $780 (more than 25 employees) $730 (if filing petition online) |
| ACWIA Fee | $750 (less than 25 employees) or $1,500(26 or more full time employees) |
| Fraud prevention & detection fee | $500 |
| Fee-based on Public Law 114-113 | $4000 (50 or more employees & 50% employees on H1B, L1 visa) |
| Asylum Program Fee | $300 (less than 25 employees) or $600(more than 25 employees) |
| Premium processing fee (Optional) | $2,805 |
| Immigration Attorney Fee | Varies from $500 to $3000 (only if the company does not have in-house attorney) |
In total, if you add up everything, the H1B fee for FY 2026 can vary from $2225 USD to $7595 USD + the Attorney fee( if any).
For more info, read Guide to H1B Fee – Who Pays for What?
One important thing to note is that fees other than the H1B Registration Fee are only applicable if you get selected in the lottery and your company is willing to file the H1B petition with USCIS. If you are not selected for the H1B Lottery, the company only spends USD 215.
How to check H1B 2026 Lottery Results? What is Results Date?
Below are the details about the H1B 2026 lottery results, how to check them, and when you can expect the results.
H1B 2026 Lottery Results Date?
Based on the previous years’ data, USCIS would likely announce H1B 2026 lottery results during the last week of March 2025 after the H1B registration submission deadline ends. We do not know the exact dates as they never mention them until the press release comes out.
Below is past history on the pattern of results announcement:
- For the FY 2025 Season, the H1B lottery results started on March 27th, 2024, and the official press release came only on April 1st, 2024.
- During the FY 2024 season, the lottery results started to trickle in from March 24th and the official press release was done on March 27th.
How to check H1B 2026 Lottery Results?
We tend to check the results on our own without relying on others. Unfortunately, it does not work that way for H1B Lottery results. Even though the online system generates something called a “Beneficiary Confirmation Number”(16-digit alphanumeric number), it cannot be used to check the lottery results online.
The “Beneficiary Confirmation Number” starts with the fiscal year. For H1B FY 2026, it would look like 2026-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx. It is only used by the USCIS online system to conduct the lottery and it is an internal number.
The only option to check the H1B lottery result is to log in as the employer or attorney who submitted the H1B registration and then check the status. Employers get a notification indicating the change to the H1B registration; after that, they can log in and check the H1B registration status online.
When employers login to check the results, they would see the status of their submitted H1B registration with the lottery result status next to the beneficiary confirmation number. It looks like this in the below screenshot. You can read complete details at How to check H1B Lottery Results .
Common FAQs
We do not yet have the exact dates released by USCIS. Based on history, we can expect that employers/companies can submit H1B registrations from the first week of March 2025 until March last week for the FY 2026 season.
USCIS as part of the H1B Modernization Regulation changed the H1B Lottery selection process to be based on the unique beneficiary passport or travel document information. You can read more at New H1B Lottery Process for FY 2025. We do not expect any changes for the FY 2026 season as the new Trump administration may not have enough time to make changes.
Latest News Updates for H1B FY 2026 Season
Below are the news updates, both official and unofficial updates, regarding the H1B FY 2026 season. We continue to update the latest news updates here, both official and unofficial.
January 2025:
As of January 7th, 2024, we do not have any new official information released by USCIS for the upcoming H1B 2026 season.
Do you have any questions regarding the H1B 2026 season? Ask your questions or add your inputs in the comments section below.
Will Trump be able to change anything for this new FY 2026 season?
How to get H1B Visa Sponshorship Job in USA from the India?
Hardik,
This can be hard. Most of the time, only consulting companies hire and sponsor visas. Your best bet is to approach MNCs like TCS, Infosys, etc. You can also check out H1BGrader.com to check list of sponsors and proactively reach out. There is a lot of fraud involved in getting sponsorship when you are outside of US, so be careful!
How I can apply for the lottery
Ana,
You need to first get a job with a company that can sponsor your H1B visa. Once you have the job, you must ask the company to sponsor your H1B visa. The company will then apply for H1B Visa to be part of the Lottery. Youc an read End to End process for H1B Visa for full details.
Will there be increased in lottery registration fee from 10$ to something 200$ something??
Anonymous,
Yes, the new fee for H1B Registration is $215 USD. It is already in effect. Update above article to have fee section as well. You can read full details.